Early identification of gifted children, including those twice-exceptional, allows schools and parents to support these children’s needs, but little is known about this early identification process and the role parents and teachers play. Parents of gifted children completed a survey which looked at what age their child was tested and identified, whether or not the parent suspected that the child was gifted, who referred the child for testing, and whether or not their child was twice-exceptional. Schools tested, identified, and started services for gifted children in the early elementary grades, usually between 5 and 6 years of age. Most parents identified giftedness in their children by age 2. Parents were also the most frequent person to refer their child for testing, although teachers also placed a strong role. Twice-exceptional children did not differ significantly from gifted children on any of these measures. Implication for further study are included.

Anyone who has attended an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting for a student with special needs knows that this gathering of individuals has the potential to be extremely contentious and adversarial if not handled effectively. Often parents become overwhelmed by terminology that is foreign to them and may feel as though the only comments they hear about their child’s educational experiences are negative. By contrast, teachers and service providers too often approach these meetings as a fait accompli, whereby a plan for services and placement decision has been pre-determined, which is in sharp contrast to the mandated approach requiring the meeting to be a work in progress, developed by a team effort, and valuing the parents as active team members. Invitational Education theory encourages a more dependable stance. This article describes the benefits of applying Invitational Education theory to the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting.